Wind Park members recognised

Hepburn Shire Advocate
23/01/2008 Page: 6

THE board of Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Ltd has announced it will present 24 of its foundation members with a certificate. The certificates mark their role in the establishment of the body that is overseeing the construction and management of Australia's first community-owned wind farm at Leonard's Hill.

Director and deputy chairperson Koos Hulst said the certificates also recognised the foundation members for their longstanding commitment to the cooperative and the project. "We firmly believe that the foundation members deserve special recognition for putting up their hands so early in the process," Mr Hulst said. "We wanted to recognise the sheer volume of volunteer hours that these people have given, and continue to give, to this worthwhile project," he said.

Certificate recipient and board member Tracey O'Neill said she was delighted after receiving her certificate. "It's great to be recognised for what you're doing but the most important thing is to get what you set out to achieve," Ms O'Neill said. "It's great being part of this community project. We set out to achieve something that hadn't been done in this country and we've done it. Hepburn should be proud that we'll be the first town in Australia to have a community owned wind farm," she said.

Mr Hulst said said Ms O'Neill was a strong supporter of the community. "As president of the Daylesford Kindergarten in 2006, board member of the Mineral Springs Pre-School Association, the Daylesford Pre-school committee and the education board of St Michael's School in 2007, and secretary of the Daylesford and District Business Group, Tracey knows what community work means," Mr Hulst said.

The Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Ltd is the official owner and manager of the Hepburn Wind Park, which has passed all approval and appeal processes and is about to embark on the capital raising stage of the project.